(Just letting you know this is an essay for class but I thought it was good so I posted it online.)              H.P. Lovecraft was a pulp sci-fi writer from the 1920s who is arguably one of the greatest influences on modern horror. While he was not the best when it came to his prose he most certainly is a master of world building. As the author who invented Cthulhu and the Necronomicon, he is one of the first modern writers to create shared universe for all of his works. He is an inspiration for people like Neil Gaiman and Stephen King, and also he is the basis for a lot of board games.             A typical H.P. Lovecraft story follows a very formulaic structure. An every man ("The Call of Cthulhu", "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward", "Dagon") or an anthropologist ("At the Mountains of Maddness", "Facts Concerning the Late Arthur Jermyn and His Family") are either about to go insane or are already insane and will proce...

Once upon a time in the spring of 1901 there were seven nations. There was England, France, Germany,Austria Hungary, Russia, Italy and then there was of course me the Ottoman Empire. And there was also the Daily Reader which is nothing more than a pack of yellow journalism and lies! But I digress... Now here's the map of the board: Turkey is right next to Russia and Austria. It is also incredibly easy for Italy to send some boats out and stab me with Austria's help. So I needed a plan. I needed to prove the Ottomans we're not just the sick man of Europe. So I hatched a plan. I talked to the Russians and told them this. Shortly after that same day Russia had something to do, and conveniently I found my self in a room with Germany, Austria, and England and I said that we all had one common enemy the Russians. So why not take care of a mutual enemy. And so we agreed to the treaty of Istanbul. But Germany was skeptical he could easily go either way. S...

Tom Petty died the same weekend as several people in a mass shooting. And I only cried for one of those things. I cried for Tom Petty I did not cry about Nevada. Does that sicken you? Because it should. I hate my self for this, how dare I not feel bad for the hundreds of people who were injured by a senseless person with a machine gun. That is clearly the bigger tragedy. And yet I only seem to be capable of thinking about Tom... While I was pondering this I remembered this saying I throw around a lot, "one death is a tragedy, a hundred is a statistic." I did not know any of the people who were hurt in Nevada but I do know Tom Petty. I know his music. I know he's one of the reasons why my parents got together. I know how his music changed me personally. But hundreds of people getting injured just is so big it feels impersonal. My puny monkey brain cannot comprehend it all but it can cling on to one person. Empathy is better at looking at one than the whole. I'm sur...